paranoiawilldestroy Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jobby Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 This is why quite a bit of Muse's stuff means so much to me. Not to sound soppy or self-obsessed but their earlier stuff (i.e. Showbiz) connects to me and my frustrations as an (attempted) artist, among other things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kueller Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Most artists try to express their feelings in their medium to connect with others who would relate to it. Seeing as almost all of us are big Muse fans we've connected to what they've written in some way. The way you described it was amazing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alehartl Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Very interesting post, and I'm feeling kind of pensive/academic at the moment so I'm going to try to respond. I had to copy your post in to a Word document so I could keep referring to it, and it's over a page long. Impressive. Firstly, I think it's a bit near-sighted to call Muse the one true artistic voice in today's society. I would argue that those people are all around us, in all mediums. I personally take a great deal of inspiration from the buskers on the street. Tom Waits would be another one, for me. The band are very important to certain people, many creators (or artisans, to use your word) themselves, however to say that they're the only true artistic voice is a little off base I think. That being said, I think you raised a really interesting point that I've thought about a lot, what you called an "innate attraction." There is something intangible about Muse's music that make a lot of people kind of obsessed (your post being a prime example, and I don't mean that in a bad way). I've always kind of wondered why though. Are they the most creative band in the world? No, I don't think so at all. There are plenty of other acts that are musically and (especially) lyrically much more creative and interesting. However there's something about their music which is just very big. The reason there's almost a full thread of an album we've heard nothing of so far is because it seems, to me that each song is kind of its own institution to fans. When you say a song title, it has a sort of status all its own, which I don't think you get with bands like The Strokes (personal opinion, and just an example). Same kind of thing with other very large bands, like (dare I say it?) Radiohead or U2 or the like. Tangent: While the idea of a bloodless societal change is wonderful, I think it's impossible to affect a dramatic, lasting change without the use of violence. I wish that weren't true, but it's something I've been thinking about a lot recently. Anyway, irrelevant to the main point. I guess I've run out of things to say. Seems I didn't have as much as I thought. Last thought, I really like the idea you discussed with "followers of praxis" pursuing happiness through an application of production (whatever that may be). Anyway, cool post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paranoiawilldestroy Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paranoiawilldestroy Posted November 9, 2011 Author Share Posted November 9, 2011 b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kueller Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Megalomania Basically, the inherent danger of being in the media-limelight... don’t become an arrogant twat. I've always seen Megalomania as a much darker song than that. Just the first line of the song gives off one of the darkest moods of any Muse song. Matt's singing from the point of view of someone completely rejecting everything for the sake of pointlessness. Considering everything like a "useless device" in some game could be a lack of emotion. The person doesn't care anymore. Looking at your descriptions of songs finding meaning in things and emotions come up a few times in the album. The organ, slow moving drum beat and bass just add to the feel. It's not something fast moving like New Born, it moves slow to match this dark lack of energy. The chorus brings in this sudden blast of emotions. If it is about religion, this is his moment where he cries out his statement of Megalomania. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paranoiawilldestroy Posted November 10, 2011 Author Share Posted November 10, 2011 I've always seen Megalomania as a much darker song than that. Just the first line of the song gives off one of the darkest moods of any Muse song. Matt's singing from the point of view of someone completely rejecting everything for the sake of pointlessness. Considering everything like a "useless device" in some game could be a lack of emotion. The person doesn't care anymore. Looking at your descriptions of songs finding meaning in things and emotions come up a few times in the album. The organ, slow moving drum beat and bass just add to the feel. It's not something fast moving like New Born, it moves slow to match this dark lack of energy. The chorus brings in this sudden blast of emotions. If it is about religion, this is his moment where he cries out his statement of Megalomania. Good man. Never thought of it like that. But surely it's a danger that Mr. Bellamy must feel the aspiring artist might succumb to? i.e Gaga:rolleyes: Also, 'it's a useless device, it won't suffice...' Mr. Bellamy here, to me, is saying that once you've forgotten the person you used (not yourself, but still the person in front of the emotion) to shield yourself from your own talent in the eyes of those who would take the Bliss from aforementioned yourself, by 'finding a new game to play', you have in effect succumbed to the fame game? Complex. Although I do agree with the darker aspect of the song... We're all human after... all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kueller Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Good man. Never thought of it like that. But surely it's a danger that Mr. Bellamy must feel the aspiring artist might succumb to? i.e Gaga:rolleyes: Also, 'it's a useless device, it won't suffice...' Mr. Bellamy here, to me, is saying that once you've forgotten the person you used (not yourself, but still the person in front of the emotion) to shield yourself from your own talent in the eyes of those who would take the Bliss from aforementioned yourself, by 'finding a new game to play', you have in effect succumbed to the fame game? Complex. Although I do agree with the darker aspect of the song... We're all human after... all. The early years are filled with criticisms of being a new artist. Showbiz had songs written (or at least thought of) during Matt's youth. So it contains a lot about breaking out of their unwelcoming environment at Teignmouth and slowly emerging into whatever the musician life would bring to them. There was that sense of uncertainty and anger in songs like Showbiz. I think one of their management said they were changed when they returned from their first tour. So it makes sense that OoS would cover the artists life from someone with more experience. Now that Matt has seen more of what the music business brings he notices that soulless-ness of it all. It is very possible that OoS can act as a follow up to Showbiz. At that point they were starting to become big, and were starting to mature. New Born's chorus, "You make me sick, because I adore you so" in Space Dementia, the general anger in Hyper Music, "remember who you were" in Screenager. Whether Matt intended to or not I can see that rise to fame being a theme of the album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jobby Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 I think you're reading into this a tad too much by this point Showbiz is the album that tackles the thoughts and feelings of struggling artists, that is clear and admitted by the band. After that they evolved, started seeing the world in a different light, became introduced to different things. Although I think you are probably correct that they try and express difficulties for aspiring artists, I don't think they do it's as often as you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kueller Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 I'm just going along with the other claim. I have my own ideas of what the songs are about (most people will have pretty different takes) but it's nice seeing a different opinion on them. It is. I kind of like looking at the songs more in depth once in a while, and it is the post-tour/pre-album time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paranoiawilldestroy Posted November 10, 2011 Author Share Posted November 10, 2011 I think you're reading into this a tad too much by this point Showbiz is the album that tackles the thoughts and feelings of struggling artists, that is clear and admitted by the band. After that they evolved, started seeing the world in a different light, became introduced to different things. Although I think you are probably correct that they try and express difficulties for aspiring artists, I don't think they do it's as often as you think. Ummm. Honestly, don't think I am. Looking at Absolution briefly, (using Stockholm Syndrome as an example) Mr. Bellamy and co. speak of the obsession with these themes; he was at this point held captive by the idea that he might be able to in turn use his position to help others. Showbiz is a collection of great songs... supposedly Mr. Bellamy had over 150 tunes to pick from when they got signed. Would make sense that he would choose the best of the best from them. But yeah, there is a lot of angst about his struggle in there. And I reckon the evolution in the writing for the next two albums was based around the themes expressed in Showbiz but with a twist... I might post what I reckon Absolution's about later but I've got tons to do for uni... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.